College Sports

Hot Topics:

Mountain View: Council backs measure to increase pay to $1,000 per month

By Jason Green

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
04/23/2014 12:31:21 AM PDT

Updated:
04/23/2014 12:46:18 AM PDT

Voters in Mountain View could be asked in November to approve a charter amendment that would result in higher pay for the City Council.

The council voted 4-3 Tuesday night to draft a ballot measure that would increase its pay from $600 per month to $1,000. Future annual adjustments would be tied to either changes in the Consumer Price Index or cost-of-living increases doled out to city workers, whichever is smaller.

Council members Margaret Abe-Koga, Ronit Bryant and John Inks cast the dissenting votes.

The Council Procedures Committee had proposed bumping the amount to $1,200, which is what council members would be making today if an inflation clause had been included in an amendment that last changed compensation in 1984, according to Councilman Mike Kasperzak.

"This really isn't even a raise," he said. "It's a raise in dollars, but it's not a raise in purchasing value."

The council, however, was uncomfortable putting a measure in front of voters that doubles its pay.

"I think $1,200 is going to be difficult to sell," said Councilman Jac Siegel.

The city charter ties council pay to population growth. The last increase of $100 came in 2012, when the city topped 75,000 residents. The next one isn't due until the population crests 150,000.

Kasperzak argued that increasing council pay would attract a more diverse pool of candidates during elections.

"We're not getting a good representative group of the public on the council," Kasperzak said.

Advertisement

Abe-Koga, Bryant and Inks disagreed that additional pay would change the composition of the council.

"It's not the pay that would necessarily encourage folks to run," Abe-Koga said. "It is about the time."

The job takes 20 to 40 hours per week, said Abe-Koga, adding that it topped 40 hours when she was mayor. But she said it wasn't "realistic" to cut down on the amount of work.

"Even though we're a mid-size city of 75,000 people, we have a lot of issues here," she said.

Echoing Kasperzak's position, Vice Mayor John McAlister said he viewed the measure as a way to recover money he personally spends to travel to regional meetings and powwow with constituents.

"I'm not trying to make money," he said. "I just want to cover my costs. And I think that's fair for the time I put into it."

Whether voters will see the measure in November isn't certain. The council could choose not to move forward when it reviews a draft in the coming weeks, particularly if it plans to seek a bond. A measure to change the city charter would need a simple majority to pass.

"In an election year, it doesn't look that great to have a revenue measure and a compensation increase on the ballot," Mayor Chris Clark said. "There are election dynamics that we need to consider."